Q. Why was the Battle of Plassey fought?

Ans. It is a battle fought between the East India Company force headed by Robert Clive and
Siraj-Ud-Daulah (Nawab of Bengal). The rampant misuse by EIC officials of trade privileges
annoyed Siraj. The continuing misconduct by EIC against Siraj-Ud-Daulah led to the battle of
Plassey in 1757.

Causes of the Battle of Plassey

Majorly the reasons for the Battle of Plassey to take place were:

The rampant misuse of the trade privileges given to British by the Nawab of Benal and
Non-payment of tax and duty by the workers of the British East India Company
Other reasons that supported the coming of this battle were:

Fortification of Calcutta by British without Nawab’s permission

Misleading Nawab on various fronts by British
An asylum was provided to Nawab’s fugitive Krishna Das
The East India Company had a strong presence in India majorly at Fort St. George, Fort
William, and Bombay Castle.

The British resorted to having an alliance with the Nawabs and princes in exchange for security
against any form of external and internal attack and were promised concessions in return for
their safety and protection.

The problem arose when the alliance was disrupted under the rule of Nawab of Bengal
(Siraj-Ud-Daulah). The Nawab started seizing the fort of Calcutta and imprisoning many British
Officials in June 1756. The prisoners were kept in a dungeon in Fort William. This incident is
called the Black Hole of Calcutta since only a handful of the prisoners survived the captivity
where over a hundred people were kept in a cell meant for about 6 people. The East India
company planned an attack and Robert Clive bribed Mir Jafar, the commander-in-chief of the
Nawab’s army, and also promised him to make him Nawab of Bengal.

The Battle of Plassey was fought at Palashi, on the banks of Bhagirathi river near Calcutta on
June 23, 1757.

After three hours of intense fighting, there was a heavy downpour. The one of the reasons for
the defeat of Nawab was the lack of planning to protect their weapons during the heavy
downpour which turned the table in favour of the British army apart from the major reason of
treachery by Mir Jafar.
Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s army with 50,000 soldiers, 40 cannons and 10 war elephants was defeated
by 3,000 soldiers of Robert Clive. The battle ended in 11 hours and Siraj-Ud-Daulah fled from
the battle post his defeat.

According to Robert Clive, 22 men died and 50 were injured from the British troops. The Nawab
army lost about 500 men, including several key officials and many of them even suffered
several casualties.